You can surprise yourself. It can be startling to discover what you can do. You and I have been taught to think about ourselves in certain ways. I can’t sing. I can’t fix things. I don’t do well working with numbers. I can’t make new friends. After a while these things sink in and we believe them. While some may be true, it does not mean this is the way things have to be.

Don Williamson, a psychologist and Methodist pastor, admitted he was no handyman. In fact, he was all thumbs around the house. But he went on to say he had been carefully taught by his father to be that way. He said he could learn to be quite handy with his hands if he wanted to take the time and expend the energy. But he didn’t want to make the effort. The key is that he realized he could make a change if he wanted to. He wasn’t helpless; he was intentionally deciding that he didn’t want to be good at “fixing things.”

This is one of the major themes of the Bible, that our salvation is dependent upon our response. John Wesley called this “prevenient grace.” It means God has already begun working in our lives, has made it possible for you to overcome your problems, find health, happiness, wholeness…God has made the first step. God has given you the power – if you would but seize the power of God within you.

A lot of us sit around waiting to be zapped, waiting to live. We sit around until conditions are perfect. We wait for a miracle…but that is foolish because the miracle has already happened! God has taken the first step. It now depends on your response. It can be a startling surprise to discover what you can do if you respond to the power of God within you.